Paul Hawken #243

This is one of the most remarkable shows I have ever had the privilege to participate in. Paul Hawken’s (visit his website!) new book, Drawdown, compiled over years, is a way for the human race to solve the challenge of global warming. His kind and enlightened words here left me changed for the better. I hope you will tune in and enjoy this man’s wisdom.

Drawdown maps, measures, models, and describes the 100 most substantive solutions to global warming. For each solution, we describe its history, the carbon impact it provides, the relative cost and savings, the path to adoption, and how it works. The goal of the research that informs Drawdown is to determine if we can reverse the buildup of atmospheric carbon within thirty years. All solutions modeled are already in place, well understood, analyzed based on peer-reviewed science, and are expanding around the world.

The subtitle of Drawdown—The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming—may sound brash. We chose that description because no detailed plan to reverse warming has been proposed. There have been agreements and proposals on how to slow, cap, and arrest emissions, and there are international commitments to prevent global temperature increases from exceeding two degrees centigrade over pre-industrial levels. One hundred and ninety-five nations have made extraordinary progress in coming together to acknowledge that we have a momentous civilizational crisis on our earthly doorstep and have created national plans of action. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has accomplished the most significant scientific study in the history of humankind, and continues to refine the science, expand the research, and extend our grasp of one of the most complex systems imaginable—climate. However, there is as yet no roadmap that goes beyond slowing or stopping emissions.

1 Comment

Wow! Every person alive ought to listen to this insightful conversation,seriously. I’m running out to get Dawson”s latest book. In particular my ears perked up at his comfortable mix of science and consciousness, my personal approach to sustainability. And yes, when women embrace, fully, our leadership roles, watch out! Transformation is happening NOW! I think anyone who appreciates Paul and Paul’s work, both so open hearted and minded, will relate to my upcoming nonfiction: “In the ‘I’ … easing through Life-storms.” An allegorical exploration of human consciousness. We Are ONE.